MATALAN: Get Beach Body Ready

Happy Holidays!
I'm off on my holiday in a few of days, so I thought I'd get all of you in the holiday mood by sharing my thoughts on 2 of many bikinis that I'll be taking away with me this year. I chose these 2 as they are new to Matalan this year and are quite frankly, my favourite!

If you've ever met me or seen me in pictures, you'll know that I am very slim but being slim isn't fabulous 24/7. As a size 6 with a bit of a bum, I find it hard to find bikini's that fit everywhere especially if they're a set; I'm not the kind of girl who has half her bottom hanging out on the beach. BUT I have finally found some that I love!

Matalan Bikinis - Animal Print Bandeau Bikini & Floral and Animal Print Bandeau Bikini

 I have various styles of bikini but a regular staple in my summer wardrobe has been the triangle moulded bikini. I have never stepped out from that comfort zone and tried anything different until I saw these Bandeau styles! In general, I can't wear bikini's that are sized by bra size as I'm a 30 - and where have you seen bikini's as small as a 30?!  Therefore I have to settle for sizes such as 8's and mix-and-match sets.

Honestly, my mum doesn't like the shape or style of the bandeau top but that's because I'm not exactly 'gifted' in that area of body shape and obviously it doesn't enhance anything but if a slim woman like Kate Moss can wear one, why can't I?

Animal Print Bandeau Bikini: Bandeau Top £6 - Shorts £5

Floral and Animal Print Bandeau Bikini: Bandeau Top £6 - Shorts £5

You can't go wrong with animal print and the animal print bandeau bikini is no exception! As soon as I tried it on it reminded me of Katy Perry's Roar video! Also, what better to get you in the summer holiday mood than a beautiful floral print?! The floral and animal print bandeau bikini is beautiful. The pictures really do not do the set justice. I cannot wait to wear this - the colours are really pigmented and as you can see, even the bees are loving it!!

Both are shaped by moulded cups and the shorts are especially flattering. The shorts are higher than most bottoms I've seen and as they come slightly higher - they cover up any little bits you're not comfortable with.  A major plus point about these pieces is that the bandeau tops have detachable straps -  meaning no tan lines! Also as I'm not top heavy, they both sit comfortably without the straps on. You can also mix and match pieces with the same print but in a different style. If shorts aren't your thing, there's normal bottoms too and if you're not a fan of the bandeau top then you can swap and change for the triangle moulded top instead!

RATING;
Price: 5 STARS Both bikinis were £11 each (including the top and bottoms). As a student I had 10% off with my NUS student card but still, £11 is an amazing price for such amazing products!

Wearability: 4 STARS If I had better comments from my mum, I would have given these 5 stars. I am aware that bandeau tops do flatten you slightly but in my opinion I still love them!! I love the fact they have detachable straps too - versatile!

Would I Recommend to a Friend?: YES I love these prints. If you get the chance, have a look at Matalan's current holiday shop - they have amazing pieces in at the moment!

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My Mr Nutcase Custom Phone Case

I love personalised products. I love looking at something and being reminded of memories and the good times and so when I was contacted by The Mr Nutcase Team at Mr. Nutcase with the opportunity to review a custom made phone case, I couldn't say no!

It's really easy to design your own custom phone case. Any Design, Any Device- including custom iPhone cases. You can either choose from a variety of designs pre-made or design your own.

You simply choose your phone manufacturer, device and desired case type and away you go!

You can then choose from a variety of layouts and there is bound to be one that suits you - I chose to design my own. I chose a collage design because just the one image seemed a bit boring and as I have soo many photos I love, I would have found it extremely hard to have decided. Although the collage consisted of 8 photos, I still found it extremely hard to decide on what ones to use. I must have made several different variations before choosing my final design, but what made it easier it that Mr Nutcase give you the opportunity to view the case and get a rough idea of the finished product - so you can decide whether to make changes or add to your basket! You can re-size the images and move them around, but you need to make sure the images fill up the desired square because otherwise you'll be left with a white line around the outside.

Mr Nutcase dispatch the next day and I received my phone case within 2 days! I am extremely happy with the quality and finish of my case - it's beautiful and it puts a smile on my face everytime I look at it. The case is hard - not flimsy like a lot I have had off of eBay and the prints are really high quality! 

My custom case was priced at £14.95. Although this is quite expensive for a basic case, I think the price is great for a custom phone case! It's a great way to 'immortalize memories' into everyday products, reminding you of the good times and memories with friends and family. It would make a great present too - a phone case - no, but a personalised custom made phone case - YES!

Do you want one? Here's 10% off your case from Mr Nutcase with discount code: 'Thanku10'

RATING:

Price; 4 STARS This price isn't for just any old phone case, it's for a custom phone case. It's a great price for the product, service and quality!

Ease of Use/Create; 5 STARS Creating the phone case online was really easy as the steps were really clear. I had no issues choosing my design, uploading my desired images or paying for the product. 

Would I Recommend to a Friend?; YES This product is great to remind yourself of great memories and the good times. It's also a great idea for a present as it's personalised and I find these ideas are the best as it shows you've put more thought into it.

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DIRTY Works: Get Ready for Summer

 I am a bad beauty blogger regarding the use of body butters, scrubs and general skin health but when I saw these two products from the DIRTY Works range on promotion, I couldn't resist and I had a change of heart! I've been using the Ditch the Dimples Sculpting Cellulite Gel and the Glow Girl! Buttery Salt Scrub for a couple of months now to get the best results & I thought I'd share my thought on them and my quest to get Summer Ready!

If you know me, you might be thinking "Why do you need cellulite gel?" - well, everyone gets cellulite, whatever size or shape you are, and I am no exception!

Ditch the Dimples Sculpting Cellulite Gel  200ml £7 & Glow Girl! Buttery Salt Scrub 300ml £4.00

 
The Sculpting Cellulite Gel is a tube. The tube is really eyecatching; the metallic silver and pink, yellow and blue tones of the logo etc. - it certainly catches your attention on the shelves! The tube is also easy to hold and squeeze making it easy to hold with hands full of gel/product.

The gel has a clinical smell to it to be honest - I'm not a huge fan. It's clear in colour, feels thick but not gloopy and spreads quite well when applied. However, after application it did feel a little bit sticky, however only for about 10 seconds until it dried. I was then able to get dressed no problem!

Although at first it did smell a bit clinical, after application it smelt of the menthol. I'm not a huge fan of this, but if you wear perfume or fragranced moisturisers you won't smell it. It didn't bother me anyway and I didn't feel it throughout the day!

Results on the on the other hand, I didn't see a drastic improvement of my cellulite. I'm not going to say it didn't work but after using it twice a day I can't say it really helped my cellulite drastically.



The Buttery Salt Scrub on the other hand is packaged in a tub. The tub is blue in colour with the identical logo. If you've ever felt what buttercream feels like, this is what the Buttery Salt Scrub feels like! It's a lovely consistency, I love the feeling of the salt and pumice - not too rough but you know it's enough to scrub all the nasties! It smells like the sea - a beautiful smell that I would love to smell in the morning or after a long day at work!

You use the scrub identical to similar products on the high street - massaging into clean, damp skin in circular motions, rinsing off and patting the skin dry. After using this product for a few months and preparing to get Beach Body Summer Ready, my skin feels soo much better in every way! It hardly takes any time to use, it feels smoother, making me feel healthier and it smells great - all perfect to get me and my skin ready for my holiday adventure!

RATING:

Price; 

Sculpting Cellulite Gel - 3 STARS £7 - I find that this is quite expensive for my budget and would probably look for a cheaper but similar product.

Buttery Salt Scrub - 5 STARS £4 - This is very reasonable and I would definitely re-purchase this again.

Promises;

Sculpting Cellulite Gel - 2 STARS - Due to the results, I wouldn't re-purchase this. I'm not saying ti didn't work but I didn't see the results I was expecting.

Buttery Salt Scrub - 5 STARS - I loved the results. My skin was smoother, cleaner and smelt like the sea - perfect to get my skin ready for the beach!

Ease of Application;

Sculpting Cellulite Gel - 3 STARS - Easy to apply- at first felt sticky but was better after application.

Buttery Salt Scrub - 5 STARS - This was really easy to apply. The scrub was thick and hardly added any extra time in the shower.

Would I Recommend to a Friend?;

Sculpting Cellulite Gel - MAYBE - I'm not saying it didn't work, but I didn't see the results I was looking for.

Buttery Salt Scrub - YES - This product will not let you down! I am definitely using this even after my holiday - great value for money and lives up to expectations!

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